THE ATOMIC VIEW OF NATURE. 455 



specially on the lines marked out by the atomic view of 

 nature have, in the course of time, reasserted themselves, 

 the atomic view itself has been regarded with less favour 

 by students who have made these problems their especial 

 study. In fact, one meets not infrequently with an in- 

 clination to disparage the atomic theory, to point out 

 that it is merely a hypothesis, and that as such it 

 should only assist, but not govern, scientific research. 1 

 In the domain of specially chemical reasoning we meet 53. 



... ,,, ' -i -i IP -IT i Criticisms of 



with severe criticisms 01 the one-sided and formal develop- the atomic 



view. 



ment to which the atomic view has led, of the playing with 

 symbols and of their empty formalism ; notably structural 

 chemistry and stereo-chemistry have not escaped severe 

 ridicule. 2 Whilst it is not very evident how the school 

 from which these criticisms proceed can in the long-run 

 escape those logical consequences which are embodied 

 in stereo- chemistry, other criticisms claim our attention 



1 See Berthelot, ' La Synthese de 1'esprit humain, naturellement 



chimique,' 7 me dd., 1891, p. 167. porte a substituer & la conception 



' Le principal reproche, que 1'on directe des choses ... la vue plus 



puisse adresser a la thdorie ato- simple . . . de leurs signes reprd- 



mique, cotnme a toutes les concep- sentatifs." 



tions analogues, c'est qu'elles con- , 2 The late eminent Professor 



duisent a opdrer sur ces rapports 

 numeriques des eldments et non 

 sur les corps eux-memes, en rap- 

 portant toutes les rdactions a une 

 unite type, ndcessairement imag- 



Hermann Kolbe of Leipsic, whose 

 labours both alone and jointly with 

 Frankland have done so much to 

 break down the formalism of the 

 older type theory, was especially 



inaire. Bref elles enlevent aux conspicuous by his virulent attacks 



phdnomenes tout caractere rdel, on the representatives of 'Modern 



et substituent a leur exposition Chemistry.' The controversy is 



vdritable une suite de considdrations elaborately and lucidly treated by 



symboliques, auxquelles 1'eaprit se A. Rau in ' Die Theorien der 



complait, parce qu'il s'y exerce modernen Chemie ' (Braunschweig, 



avec plus de facilitd que sur les 1877-84, 3 parts), which contains 



realites proprement dites . . . les very valuable historical references, 



symboles de la chimie prdsentant I am afraid it is greatly owing to 



a cet dgard d'dtranges sdductions this party spirit that Kolbe's own 



par la facilitd algebrique de leurs greatness is hardly sufficiently 

 combinaisons et par les tendances i known in this country. 



